A video showing policemen carrying away a Ganesha idol while dispersing people sitting around it is viral on social media with false captions claiming that the video is from Kerala.
BOOM found that the video is from Hyderabad, Telangana. We also spoke to the local police who told us that the idol was removed from a disputed piece of land at Rakshapuram society in Old City of Hyderabad.
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The viral video shows a group of police personnel enter an open area where people can be seen sitting with a Ganesha idol. While one of the cops carries the idol away, others can be seen forcefully removing other people sitting around the idol. The video is viral in the backdrop of the ongoing Ganesha festival.
View the viral video here and here. Click here for an archived version of the post.
The viral post has a Hindi caption which translates to 'This is the situation of Hindus in Kerala during Ganesha festival. Hindus can't even celebrate their festivals in Hindustan'.
(Hindi: गणेशोत्सव में केरल में ये हालात हो गए है हिन्दुओ के हिन्दू अपना त्योहार भी नही मना सकता है अपने हिन्दुस्थान में)
The video is viral from several social media handles with similar false captions.
BOOM also received the video on its helpline number to check the veracity of the claim.
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Fact Check
BOOM watched the video closely and found that the people in the background are speaking in Telugu. Taking cue, we did a search on Facebook with a combination of keywords and found a longer version of the viral video uploaded by Kranthi Mudiraj on September 11.
A caption with the post reads 'Yesterday High Tension Police official Remove Ganesh Maharaj Idol @Rakshapuram Society Property at Huppuguda Old City Hyderabad Telangana State'.
We found the video posted from some other Facebook profiles with captions claiming it is from Rakshapuram society in Old City of Hyderabad. Check here.
BOOM contacted Santhoshnagar police station to get more information about the incident.
Sector III sub-inspector A Rajender told BOOM that the incident took place on September 10. "Actually it was a disputed land - a park - and two groups were laying claim on it. We asked local people to remove the idol and they removed but later some political workers came there and tried to install the idol forcefully so we had to remove them. Everything is peaceful now," Rajender said. He added that people some people were taken into preventive custody and were later released.
The SI denied any communal angle in the incident.
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BOOM also contacted Roopraj, south zone incharge of Bhagyanagar Ganesh Ustava Samthi, who was present at the site when the incident took place. Roopraj told BOOM that the land where the idol was being installed is a park belonging to a society. "When we went there to oppose the cops removing the idols, around 100-200 cops came and picked us up. We were taken from one to another police station. We were finally allowed to go at 11 pm at night," Roopraj told BOOM.
We sent the viral video to Roopraj over WhatsApp and he confirmed to us that it was the same incident that took place in Rakshapuram.